Coping With Suicide Loss in British Columbia: Resources and Support

Losing someone to suicide is a devastating experience that can leave you feeling shattered, traumatized, and consumed by intense grief. The overwhelming emotions of sadness, anger, guilt, and unanswered questions can seem truly insurmountable in the aftermath. Unfortunately, many individuals and families across British Columbia have been impacted by the tragedy of suicide loss.

If you have lost a loved one to suicide in this province, it's crucial to understand that you don't have to endure this heartbreak alone. While nothing can undo the trauma you are coping with, there are support services, counseling resources, and compassionate communities available in British Columbia to help guide and care for survivors after a suicide loss.

Crisis Support Lines

In the immediate aftermath of a suicide, or whenever you need urgent emotional support, British Columbia has several crisis lines that operate 24/7:

• Crisis Line BC: Call 1-800-784-2433 or visit crisislines.bc.ca
• Vancouver Coastal Regional Distress Line: 1-800-784-2433
• First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line: 1-855-242-3310
• Crisis Services Canada: Call 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645
  

The caring crisis counselors are trained to provide supportive listening, safety planning, intervention if needed, and connections to local BC organizations and counseling services tailored for survivors of suicide loss.

Support Groups

Connecting with others who have experienced a similar tragic loss through suicide can provide immense comfort during this devastation. Being able to share your story, emotions, memories and ask questions with individuals who understand the trauma can alleviate immense loneliness.

The BC Counsellors branch hosts in-person and virtual support groups across the province specifically for survivors of suicide loss. Groups are available in areas like Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Prince George, Nanaimo, Kamloops and more.

The Canadian Mental Health Association also facilitates peer support groups in many BC communities that welcome individuals grieving a suicide death. Check with your local CMHA branch or ask your family doctor for any groups in your area as well.

Grief Counseling & Therapy

After the trauma of losing someone to suicide, seeking grief counseling from qualified professionals is strongly recommended. Processing the complicated emotions and pain in a healthy way requires care from counsellors experienced in suicide grief therapy.

Through the BC Mental Health Support Line at 310-6789, you can get connected with counsellors and therapists across the province who specialize in supporting survivors of suicide loss. They can help guide you through the intense grief, provide coping strategies, refer you to additional services, and create a safe space to process the trauma.

Many private therapists and counsellors in BC also have specific training in this area of grief counselling. While private options require payment, some offer sliding scale fees based on income. Your employee assistance program or extended health benefits may provide coverage for counselling as well.

Indigenous Support Services

For Indigenous communities in BC impacted by a suicide loss, there are culturally-grounded support services available provincewide:

• The KUU-US Crisis Line at 1-800-588-8717 provides crisis support and referrals to local resources.
• The Indian Residential School Survivors Society has a crisis line at 1-800-721-0066 with counsellors and trauma support specific to the residential school impacts.
• Many Friendship Centres and Indigenous Health Centres in BC cities have on-site counsellors, healing circles, and cultural supports for suicide grief.
• The Tsow-Tun-Le-Lum Society in Lantzville offers Indigenous ceremonial and grief recovery supports.
  

Online Support Resources

In addition to local services, there are national and international online support communities and resources dedicated to survivors of suicide loss that are accessible anytime:

• The Alliance of Hope hosts virtual support groups, forums, and grief seminars.
• Facebook has private groups like "Grief - Survivors of Suicide Loss" to join.
• The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has extensive online resources, including private member forums.
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's website has sections for loss survivors.
• Support resources like those from the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention.
  

Self-Care and Living With Grief

Coping with a suicide loss creates an enormity of grief that can impact your daily life, mental health, and overall well-being. You may experience severe depression, anxiety, trauma responses, anger, guilt, emotional numbness, and have many difficult questions without answers.

It's vitally important to prioritize self-care and be patient and compassionate with yourself through this devastation. Don't isolate yourself – spend time with loved ones who are supportive and non-judgmental about your grief. Consider joining a counseling or peer support group to process your story in a therapeutic setting.

Write in a journal to help cope with the influx of difficult thoughts and emotions. Maintain routines, nutrition, physical activity, and healthy sleep habits as best you can. Mind-body practices like meditation, yoga, being in nature, or creativity can provide grounding during this turmoil.

If you're having thoughts of suicide yourself, severe depression, struggles with daily functioning, PTSD responses, or other acute symptoms, immediately reach out to your doctor, a counselor, or emergency services for professional intervention and care. You deserve compassionate, qualified support.

Moving Forward With Grief

A loved one's suicide creates traumatic grief and absence that may always feel emotionally present in your life. But you don't have to endure this pain alone. Across British Columbia, there are counseling services, support groups, crisis lines, cultural supports, and compassionate communities available to help guide and care for you through this unimaginable loss.

While grief may persist long-term, reaching out for professional help, connecting with others who understand the complex trauma, accessing educational resources about suicide loss, and practicing self-care can make the journey a little lighter. Step-by-step, you can find sources of solace, grounding and moments of peace amidst this devastation. You deserve compassionate spaces to process, heal, and be surrounded by care during this darkest of times.  You are not alone, BC has an entire community here to support you through the tragedy of suicide loss.